The first step to homeschooling is making your decision to home educate your child. It is important to become informed and knowledgeable about some of the main concerns you may have. Explore these areas of our website to learn more about the initial decision to homeschool.
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| Making Your Decision |
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The reasons people decide to educate their children at home are varied and can be unique to each family. Some look towards a better educational experience, others are concerned with moral and social issues, some are concerned with safety, and still others have special needs that they wish to address. Explore these reasons and others that have led families to homeschooling.
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| Advantages of Homeschooling |
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Ask anyone who loves homeschooling what the advantages are, and you'll probably hear a long list of the benefits of educating children in the home. Homeschooling is a journey and an adventure, with benefits and rewards for the entire family. Come find out what these advantages are and decide if homeschooling is right for you.
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| Teaching Your Own Children |
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Are you qualified to teach your own children? The answer is yes! It is challenging, but rewarding, to educate your children in your home. Find out what these challenges are and how to address them.
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| Socialization |
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"But what about socialization?" So the typical question goes to anyone who homeschools. Find out what socialization means to homeschooling families and strategies to engage your children and your entire family in social activities and connections.
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| Research & Statistics |
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Learn about current research and statistics involving homeschooling families, the homeschool movement, and the educational system.
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| Public School Issues |
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Many parents are basing part of their decision to homeschool on issues with public schooling, from bullying to poor academic performance to problems with governmental control.
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| Community Outreach |
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Want to help homeschooling integrate into the community at large? Are you a homeschool group leader who talks with the media or provides information to new and curious homeschoolers? Here are tips to help you present homeschooling to the public and the media.
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Thoughts on Socialization from a Homeschool Graduate |
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Heather Greutman |
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You would think that in a world full of homeschool graduates, many of whom get into top colleges, win national spelling bees, and score way higher on all national and state tests that people would realize that the socialization question really is obsolete now days. But because we spend all day with mom (or dad) and siblings, instead of in a school room with 1 teacher to 25+ children we suddenly aren’t socialized! This homeschool graduate shares her experiences with her "lack" of socialization.
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Making the Decision to Homeschool |
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Choosing to homeschool a deaf or hard-of-hearing child can offer some complex issues to consider. This articles offers a starting point to explore some of those issues and to help you decide if homeschooling is right for your family. |
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Is Homeschooling Right for You? |
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Karla Kassebaum |
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The decision-making process to homeschool a child is daunting. If the child presently attends public school, it’s more intimidating. Many people eagerly voice their opinions on home-based education and at times, the debate is heated. However, according to the National Home Education Research Institute, significant growth has transpired in the past three to five years with the homeschool population in 2010 reaching 2.4 million students.
But is it right for you? If you are considering a home-based education for your child, here are a few things to consider as you begin your decision-making process. |
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The How To’s of Homeschool Socialization |
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Heidi Ciravola |
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Is the only place to learn from others found within the four walls of a school? If we follow the logic that socialization only comes from school, are we then to assume socialization does not occur within the family unit, at church, or on any give sports team? How about during neighborhood play or at the local playground? And if we assume socialization is a process occurring throughout our lives then what happens when we are no longer within the four walls of elementary, middle or high school? You socialize a homeschool child, or anyone else for that matter by having them live their lives, be in their environment and around the people you would normally be around during the course of a day. |
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Am I Qualified to Teach My Own? |
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Gary Grammar |
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The differences in teaching a classroom full of children and one's own children are marked. This article discusses how the love and attention from one's own parent can make all the difference and why a home-teaching parent has a clear advantage over the school teacher. |
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